Marriott Bonvoy points transfer to over 40 airlines… no other flexible, transferrable points currency comes even close. The major downside is that while AMEX/Chase/Citi points transfer to most frequent travel programs instantly or up to a few days, Marriott Bonvoy transfers can take more than several days.
You can transfer between 3k – 240k Marriott points per day and for every 60k Bonvoy points you transfer, you will receive 5k bonus miles/points with your desired frequent flyer program.
You can earn Marriott Bonvoy points with one of their many credit cards from American Express or Chase. You can also earn points by staying at Bonvoy hotels and through other promotions.
Marriott Bonvoy Transfer Information
Transfer Ratio: the standard transfer ratio is 3 Marriott Bonvoy points = 1 airline mile/point, some frequent flyer programs work differently and therefore the ratio is adjusted based on their valuations
Transfer Bonus: for every 60k Marriott Bonvoy points you transfer, you get 5k airline miles/points as a bonus, for example, 60k Marriott = 20k airline miles/points + 5k bonus airline miles/points = 25k miles/points total
Average Transfer Time: the average transfer times are listed below, however these are average and you should be aware that your transfer could take LESS or MORE time, it all depends on how many transfers are pending, the day of the week you transfer, the day the airline receives the points from Marriott, etc.
- Aegean Airlines
- ratio: 3:1
- average transfer time: 3 days
- AeroMexico
- ratio: 3:1
- average transfer time: 2-3 days
- Air Canada
- ratio: 3:1
- average transfer time: 3-4 days
- Air China
- ratio: 3:1
- average transfer time: 5 days
- Air France/KLM
- ratio: 3:1
- average transfer time: 2 days
- Air New Zealand
- ratio: 200:1
- average transfer time: 2 days
- Alaska Airlines
- ratio: 3:1
- average transfer time: 2 days
- Alitalia
- ratio: 3:1
- average transfer time: 7 days
- ANA
- ratio: 3:1
- average transfer time: 7 days
- American Airlines
- ratio: 3:1
- average transfer time: 2 days
- Asiana Airlines
- ratio: 3:1
- average transfer time: 7+ days
- Avianca
- ratio: 3:1
- average transfer time: 1-3 days
- British Airways
- ratio: 3:1
- average transfer time: 1-2 days
- Cathay Pacific
- ratio: 3:1
- average transfer time: 7 days
- China Eastern Airlines
- ratio: 3:1
- average transfer time: too long, don’t do it (more than a month)
- China Southern Airlines
- ratio: 3:1
- average transfer time: 5-7 days
- Copa Airlines
- ratio: 3:1
- average transfer time: 3-4 days
- Delta Air Lines
- ratio: 3:1
- average transfer time: 1 day
- Emirates
- ratio: 3:1
- average transfer time: 3 days
- Etihad Airways
- ratio: 3:1
- average transfer time: 5 days
- Frontier Airlines
- ratio: 3:1
- average transfer time: too long, don’t do it (more than a month)
- Hainan Airlines
- ratio: 3:1
- average transfer time: 7 days
- Hawaiian Airlines
- ratio: 3:1
- average transfer time: 1-2 days
- Iberia
- ratio: 3:1
- average transfer time: 5 days
- Japan Airlines
- ratio: 3:1
- average transfer time: 7-14 days or more
- JetBlue
- ratio: 6:1
- average transfer time: 1-2 days
- Korean Air
- ratio: 3:1
- average transfer time: 7 days
- LATAM Airlines
- ratio: 3:1
- average transfer time: 2 days
- Qantas Airways
- ratio: 3:1
- average transfer time: 7 days
- Qatar Airways
- ratio: 3:1
- average transfer time: 7 days
- Saudia Airlines
- ratio: 3:1
- average transfer time: 7 days
- Singapore Airlines
- ratio: 3:1
- average transfer time: 1-2 days
- South African Airways
- ratio: 3:1
- average transfer time: 3-4 days
- Southwest Airlines
- ratio: 3:1
- average transfer time: 1-2 days
- TAP Air Portugal
- ratio: 3:1
- average transfer time: too long, don’t do it (more than a month)
- THAI Airways
- ratio: 3:1
- average transfer time: 14+ days
- Turkish Airlines
- ratio: 3:1
- average transfer time: 3-4 days
- United Airlines
- ratio: 3:1.1
- average transfer time: 1-2 days
- Virgin Atlantic
- ratio: 3:1
- average transfer time: 1-2 days
- Virgin Australia
- ratio: 3:1
- average transfer time: 1-2 days
Marriott Bonvoy Transfer Tips
Award Holds: some airlines allow you to hold an award ticket for X number of days, this depends on the frequent flyer program, make sure you check to see if you can place your award on hold while you transfer points in order to secure the award space
Other Options: make sure you have backup options or another plan in mind if by the time the points show up in your frequent flyer account, your desired flights are gone
Transfer AMEX/Chase/Citi: generally, these transfers are much quicker than Marriott transfers and therefore if you have a flight in mind that you need booked ASAP and there’s only a few seats left, consider transferring from a Bank instead of from Marriott
In Conclusion
Marriott Bonvoy has the most transfer partners in the entire miles and points world. The major downside is that transfers can take several days (or more) to complete – during that time you risk the flight award availability disappearing. Bonvoy transfers are excellent to airlines that allow you to hold award flights for a few days – make sure to check if your desired frequent flyer program does!
Marriott Bonvoy is still new and therefore there are still some issues with the occasional transfer – make sure you have a backup plan if the points do not transfer within the average transfer time. You shouldn’t use Marriott transfers if booking a flight really close to departure as a number of things could go wrong – flights disappearing, points not transferring, etc.
Remember the extra 5k bonus miles/points which you earn for every 60k Marriott transferred to airlines. You must transfer 60k or more in one transaction in order to get the bonus miles/points in your frequent flyer program.
Happy Booking!